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info@torregrimesi.it
Cina: da un posto qualsiasi..
Mother's Day, Father's Day, worker's day, national day… we have so many days dedicated to celebrating multiple
aspects of our lives, from our parents and family to things which are more national or
even international, like poetry month, breast cancer awareness month or mental illness awareness week.
But something that numerous countries don't celebrate are children.
There is a day established by the UN to promote children
international togetherness and awareness globally on November 20th, but it isn't celebrated with such rigor as it deserves.
Except in China.
The Chinese Children's Day is on the 1st of June.
It started off as a half-day holiday in 1949, but it was converted into a full-day holiday inn 1956 by the Chinese
government and is now considered an official holiday.
It is not only a recognition of children's rights, but also a day dedicated to cherishing childhood and play.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs organizes a large gathering with three other organizations in Beijing, where 100 children are
invited, representing each of the 56 nationalities in China.
The meeting is for the children to get to know each other and build bridges across differences,
working together and setting an example for the growth and prosperity of the nation.
There are various parent-child activities to reinforce bonds within the family, attractions such as amusement
parks have free admissions to children and restaurants offer discounts for kids.
Schools remain open and hold performances, organize camping trips and show movies.
Kids receive lucky money and presents, and children of civil servants receive small valuable gifts
from the government.
Of course, there is a lot of Chinese junk food involved, such as cookies, cakes, spicy dried fish and chicken feet.
REMAINING EDITS
I went to a Children's Day celebration a few years ago.
There was a woman I always saw in my complex, and she told me that her son's school was hosting a
huge party, focusing on being international, and she thought that since I was Italian, I could go around
and explain Italian culture.
I was intrigued and decided to go.
It was beautiful there. The usual identical halls of the school were full of banners
and origami flowers and children dressed up and booths full of food.
Each class had a country,
and I noticed that there were teachers from the specific countries organizing games for the kids.
Colorful balloons and booths full of Chinese and western foods ran down the hallways, and there was music in the individual rooms,
usually local to the country that room was dedicated to.
After watching the people in the Italian room learn Italian and play various board games,
I wandered along the halls, stopping to talk to teachers from different nationalities and observing the classrooms.
I spent most of my day in the Chinese Room, learning Chinese calligraphy and making local foods.
My International school has something similar called International Day in celebration with diversity, but the
celebration in the Chinese School was wholly aimed in making the kids enjoy their childhood and expand their knowledge.
I remember I was happy and tired after that morning of celebrations and writing about it when it is so close makes me want to go again.
Cortesia di L.B.
Kids are the center of this day in all cities in China:
Nota dell'Editore.
Il 20 novembre è l'anniversario della Convenzione delle Nazioni Unite sui diritti del fanciullo (UNCRC), approvata nel 1989.
L'adozione della convenzione internazionale è stata una pietra miliare per i diritti dei bambini.
Per la prima volta i bambini non sono stati visti come oggetti passivi che dovevano essere assistiti,
ma piuttosto come persone che partecipano attivamente alle decisioni da prendere.
Tuttavia, come con qualsiasi altro accordo internazionale è solo con il passare del tempo che è possibile verificare se la
convenzione sia davvero rispettata e vedere se i bambini sono protetti, rispettati ed
a loro agio in un ambiente senza alcun tipo di violenza fisica o psicologica.
